From the Bride... Jason and I met back in Fall of 2011 when he was the teaching assistant for a chemistry class I was taking at the University of California, Irvine. Even though I thought he was dreamy the moment I saw him, I didn’t think much of it. What would a cool, mature graduate student want with a quirky, goofy undergrad anyway? Little did I know that a few months later, a mere two hours after submitting my final exam, I’d get a Facebook friend request from none other than that cute chemistry TA, and our relationship would blossom into something so fun, so comfortable, and so special.

Fast forward four years to fall of 2015. Jason had just moved to Virginia to work with NASA while I stayed in southern California to continue teaching chemistry at a local high school. While long distance wasn’t ideal for either of us, we agreed we would make it work until we figured out where our careers would take us. The first time I saw Jason after he moved was when he flew back to northern California to see me and my family for Thanksgiving. My dad had suggested we hike around the Marin Headlands, a beautiful outlook on the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, since Jason had never visited that part of the Bay Area before. I had no idea that on this day and at this viewpoint, Jason would ask me to marry him. I wholeheartedly agreed, and together we quickly jumped into the crazy whirlpool that is wedding planning.

From the get-go, Jason and I knew we wanted our wedding to be as simple and easy as possible. Our color palette primarily consisted of muted shades of green and ivory with accents of burlap, twine, and metallic materials. These colors not only worked well with our venue – a botanical garden on the Sonoma coastline with beautiful, towering redwood trees – but they also complemented my family’s traditional Filipino attire, which included beautiful cream and beige hues. We are lucky to have incredible friends and family who were more than willing to help us with our big day, so we were able to make quite a bit of the decor ourselves, from the florals to the signage to the reception table centerpieces. These DIY elements provided such a personal touch and truly captured who we are as a couple.

If I could give any advice to future Brides and Grooms, it would be to not lose sight of your wedding vision. If you know what you want, go for it! It’s your day, so don’t be afraid to make it your own.